


Heely beloved, we are gathered here today

by secretagentspydetectiveninja



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (only because it involves weddings), Aged-Up Character(s), Atypical April, BRING ON THE RAREPAIRS, F/M, Fluff, seriously i also shoved a bunch of rarepairs into the background just because i could
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-17 06:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10588689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretagentspydetectiveninja/pseuds/secretagentspydetectiveninja
Summary: The ridiculously fluffy rarepair fic about rollerskates and Heelys that no one asked for





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Pretty much just the fic version of [this silly thing](http://queenkubdel.tumblr.com/post/159091607272/queenkubdel-i-know-alix-is-probably-not-the-kind). Happy Atypical April, everyone!

It wasn’t entirely Adrien’s choice to propose marriage to Chloé Bourgeois. After all, they had made a marriage pact in their early childhood, both their families were wealthy and influential, and now that they were in their twenties, their fathers were both urging each other to settle down already, claiming a marriage between them would be good for publicity.

Adrien liked Chloé, he really did. Not as anything more than a friend, that was for certain, but he didn’t mind the idea of spending the rest of his life with her. She had long grown out of her bratty behaviour back in middle school and now was a confident, beautiful young lady who anyone would be lucky to have. Even as adults they still spent a lot of time in each other’s company. He expected her to readily accept when he finally popped the question one sunny afternoon at a tea party they were having at her father’s hotel.

He definitely had _not_ expected her answer to be, “Sorry Adrien, I’m a lesbian!”

“Wait, what?”

Adrien wasn’t sure he had heard right. His hand holding out the engagement ring dropped a little.

“I’m a lesbian,” Chloé repeated, leaning forward and pressing shut the lid of the ring box. “I have a girlfriend.”

Really? And he had never noticed, all this time?

“Don’t look so shocked, darling!” She let out a chuckle. “I know your gaydar isn’t exactly up-to-scratch, but it can’t really be that much of a surprise, can it?”

Adrien slowly got to his feet, putting the ring box back into his pocket. “My gaydar is completely non-existent so this really is a surprise… but it’s probably a good one. Because to tell the truth, um, I’m not actually in love with you. I just asked you to marry me because–”

“Because it’s what our families want,” she finished. “I understand. But that’s no reason to marry someone, and I’m certainly not going to marry you just because my father thinks it’s a good idea. I’m going to marry someone who I want to, and I think you deserve the same.”

“Thanks, Chloé. You’re right. But my choices are just so limited, since my father won’t accept anyone whose family isn’t _respectable_ enough, and I hardly know anyone else wealthy enough to even consider it!”

“There are plenty of lovely wealthy people out there, Adrikins! You’ll surely find someone.” She sat down on her chair again and began pouring herself another cup of tea.

“I don’t know,” Adrien muttered. “Now that I’m out of school, you know my father keeps me too busy to really get to know anyone new. I’m not sure I would want to marry someone who I haven’t already known for a long time, but none of my current friends are the kind of people my father would allow!”

Chloé took a sip from the tiny porcelain tea cup. “You’re an adult, Adrien, you don’t need to allow your father to boss you around. My own father doesn’t know I’m a lesbian yet but I’ll certainly be telling him soon. I doubt he’ll be happy, but there’s nothing he can do about it, is there?”

“I suppose…” He slumped down onto a chair too. “But I want to make my father proud. I don’t want him cutting me off or anything, and I just… it’s difficult. Who else could I possibly marry other than someone I don’t know and can’t get to know well enough to love?”

He thought about his close friends. Marinette and Alya had already married each other last year, so obviously they were not an option. Nino was someone who Adrien had considered proposing to more than once, but not only was he not from a wealthy or respectable family, he was a boy too! That would be far too scandalous to deal with. He hoped Chloé’s own preferences wouldn’t end up marring her reputation, though she was probably confident enough to handle something like that with ease.

Chloé put her cup down and leaned forwards, smiling. “You already know several people your father would approve of. Think of school, Adrien. Who do you remember from school who has a wealthy family? Other than me, of course.”

Adrien thought back to when he was a teenager, trying to remember. Most of his memories from back then were to do with being Chat Noir and helping defend Paris with his partner Ladybug. He had been crushing on her a lot at the time, that was for sure, though after she turned out to be Marinette his feelings had transformed into something a lot more platonic.

But who else had been at school? Did he have any wealthy classmates?

“Lila,” he said, remembering her suddenly. “Lila Rossi has a respectable family. She even used to have a crush on me. I could…”

He trailed off, noticing that Chloé was giggling.

“Oh, Adrien! I’m afraid you have no chance with Lila whatsoever – who did you think my girlfriend was?”

“What? Your girlfriend is _Lila?_ ”

“Yes!”

Adrien stared, trying to let it sink in. How could he have not known this? He spent so much time around Chloé, and yet she had never even given the slightest hint! In fact, it was impressive how much of a secret she had kept it! Especially considering how much she loved to talk about her life!

Well, either that or Adrien’s gaydar was just that terrible.

“Wow,” he said, proceeding to take a long swig of tea, ignoring that it burnt his tongue. “You two do make a very fashionable couple.”

“I know, of course we do. Lila is the most incredible girlfriend anyone could have. If I’m going to marry anyone at all, it’s her. I love her so much.”

“That’s really sweet!”

“Yes, but it doesn’t solve your dilemma. You’re not thinking hard enough – I specifically remember someone else in our collège class whose family was rich enough to rival both of ours.”

Adrien sat against the back of the chair, pondering over it. Who could it be?

“It’s not a boy, is it?” he asked quickly. “Not that I would be against that, my brain doesn’t seem to take gender into account when it comes to falling in love, but I doubt my father would be happy about…”

“No, not a boy,” said Chloé, smirking, “though if all you looked at was her wardrobe then you’d probably mistake her for one…”

“Well the only girl I know who shops in the men’s section is Alya, and she’s already married!”

“Oh Adrien, you really are forgetful, you naïve little kitten.” Chloé took another sip of her tea. “Of course it’s isn’t Alya, it’s someone else. And someone who I’m surprised doesn’t stick better in your memory – I personally find it hard to forget someone with hair such a hideous shade of pink.”

Pink hair? That could only mean…

“Surely you don’t mean Alix.”

“I do.”

“But… she’s…”

There was an awkward silence while Chloé waited for him to find the words he wanted to say. He did indeed remember Alix, but he had been sure Chloé couldn’t have been talking about her, of all people. Alix was about as far away from _respectable_ as you could get.

“She’s not wealthy, is she?” he asked finally.

“Her family certainly is. Respected historians and scientists for generations down the line. Her father practically _owns_ the Louvre. And I’m sure even you remember that high tech pocket watch of hers. Her family is absolutely loaded, and your father would agree.”

Adrien was still too surprised to take it in properly, but… Chloé was right, wasn’t she? The Kubdels were wealthy. Alix was a girl his age. He had known her for a long time now. Other than Chloé and Lila, well, wasn’t this what he was looking for?

“I’ll… I’ll think about it,” he said, looking down at his hands and fiddling with his Miraculous.

“That’s the spirit!”

“But I haven’t really talked to her properly in so long. We were friends back at school, but now…”

“Ask her to teach you how to rollerskate.”

Adrien looked up to see that Chloé wasn’t even looking at him – she sat casually filing her nails, a somewhat amused smile on her face.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? To just out of the blue–”

“It’s a perfect idea. Her museum day job hardly takes up her time, she’ll thank you for it. And you’ll get to learn a new skill, which will persuade your father to allow some time out of your schedule for lessons. After all, I’m sure you must get tired of modelling all the time.”

“I really do,” Adrien said, nodding. “But it’s just that… Oh, I don’t know. It feels unfair to just _choose_ her like that. As if I suddenly start hanging out with an old friend again just because my father wants me to marry someone and it may as well be her.”

“Well, what other choice do you have? If this is your best option then you might as well go for it. What’s the worst that could happen? You decide you don’t want to marry her, or she says no when you ask, but the two of you still remain good friends just like you and I. It seems a win-win situation.”

“It does sound better when you put it like that, I guess. It would be nice to make better friends with her. She’s really cool.”

Chloé put a hand over her heart. “Aww, see? You already like her!”

“What? No I just – I was just – well she is cool, you can’t deny it!” He hurriedly took another sip of his tea, trying to look casual.

“Personally I always thought she was just a bit weird, but if you say she’s cool then I suppose she must be. Anyway, you absolutely have to let me know how it goes, alright? I’ll be waiting to hear everything.”

“Fine. I will.”

The conversation moved onto other things, and soon the tea party was over.

 

 

Adrien was surprised that his father had agreed to adding rollerskating lessons to his schedule, and even more surprised that he was allowing said lessons to be with his old classmate Alix Kubdel, sending Nathalie to book them immediately. The most surprising thing of all was him not even batting an eyelid when Adrien suggested that these lessons be one-on-one, without supervision from his bodyguard or Nathalie. Perhaps Gabriel knew what his son was up to, in which case at least he seemed to approve.

Still, Adrien felt somewhat nervous. After leaving school he hadn’t really talked to Alix much, only seeing her on the odd occasion when all the former classmates would meet up. In fact, he hadn’t spoken to her at all since Kim and Max’s wedding last year where she had been “best girl”. That felt like such a long time ago.

She was so intimidating, too. People had always said that she would grow out of her rough, tomboyish phase, but adulthood hadn’t changed a thing about her – in fact, people were probably _more_ scared of her now than they had ever been back when she could still have been called a “kid”. At least she had always been nice to Adrien, getting along with him well enough to be able to call him a friend. That couldn’t be said about many of the other classmates.

The first rollerskating lesson was somewhat quiet. It took place on the courtyard in front of the Agreste mansion. Adrien didn’t really know what to say apart from the usual small talk that was expected of him, and he was concentrating too much on not falling over to do much else.

“I’ll admit, I have no idea how to teach anyone to do anything,” was the first thing Alix said to him that wasn’t just a simple greeting. She had never been very interested in small talk, anyway. “I have no idea why your dad asked me to do this.”

“Because I already know you,” Adrien said, wobbling around on the skates, starting to get the hang of it. “We’re friends. I mean, we were at school, I know we’ve been out of touch but–”

“Well we’re not out of touch now. So yeah, you’re my friend. I don’t have many of those left right around now.”

“Really? Why not?”

“Kim and Max moved away after they got married, Jalil studies abroad now, everyone at work’s scared of me and I don’t know anyone else. I’ve always been bad at making friends.”

She didn’t bother to hide the bitterness in her voice. Forgetting marriage entirely, Adrien was suddenly overcome with the urge to befriend her properly and end her loneliness. After all, he felt rather lonely a lot of the time too, now that his father kept him so busy and he hardly got to see his friends. It almost felt like he was back to being homeschooled again. He missed having company.

Holding out his hand for a handshake he asked, “We can be good friends, though, right?”

She smiled, whacking her hand against his in a sort of high five instead. “Yeah. That would be awesome.”

The rest of the lesson already felt more light-hearted, just the way things had been between them back at school all those years ago. She even looked much the same as she did back then – still the messy pink hair, still miles shorter than everyone else, still wearing the similar clothing she always did. It was somewhat nostalgic. He wondered if she felt the same way.

 

The second lesson was a few days later, and was a lot less subdued. Adrien was improving quickly and enjoying it too. Rollerskating was a lot of fun.

“You’re already getting good, you don’t even need my help,” Alix said, somewhat wistfully. “You could easily just carry on by yourself.”

“I’m not that good yet!” Adrien said quickly. “And… and even if I am, it would be more fun to go skating with you than by myself. You don’t have to teach me. You could just be here to hang out. I don’t get to see any of my friends much, so this is nice.”

She looked relieved. “Oh, okay then. Yeah, you’re right. It’s nice to get to hang out with you. You’re really cool.”

Adrien hoped he wasn’t blushing – that was a very sweet thing for her to say, and very unusual coming from someone as apathetic as her.

“Thanks,” he mumbled. “You’re really cool too.”

“And you’re like, the kindest person I know. Do you think some of that could rub off on me? It might help my colleagues to not tremble with fear whenever they see me coming.”

“But you’re not scary!”

“See? This is what I mean when I say you’re the kindest person. You don’t see me the way other people do.” She gave him a friendly punch in the arm, though it was hard enough to send him rolling backwards a little. “Everyone else tiptoes around me like I’m some kind of monster. You actually treat me like a person.”

He tried to return the friendly punch, but it was so soft she probably couldn’t even feel it. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Yeah… listen, I know this is quick, but I’m upgrading you to best friend already. You’ve earned it. And I miss having best friends.”

Best friends? Adrien lost his balance for a second and almost tripped over. Alix grabbed his arm in time and lifted him back onto his feet, though that just made him feel even more unstable.

“Best friends sounds good,” he said. “We should hang out more often.”

“Yeah. We totally should.”

 

The third lesson could hardly even be considered a lesson. Now that Adrien could actually skate without help, it was more just an excuse for them to spend some time with each other, a nice break from Adrien’s busy schedule. They didn’t even skate that much – the weather was sunny and warm, so they sat on the ground with snacks, chatting.

“… and then it turned out that someone had managed to put a traffic cone on top of the statue’s head overnight, and we still have no idea who did it!”

Adrien laughed more than he probably should have. He never usually had much opportunity to laugh when his days were filled up with boring photo shoots and social events, where the only stories people would tell him about were all rather uninteresting. It seemed like Alix’s life was far more fun, or at least, she made it sound that way.

“How did you get the traffic cone down from there?” he asked, once he had finally stopped laughing enough to breathe.

“I climbed up myself and took it down,” she replied. “My dad was furious, but like… how else were we supposed to get it down? Hire a scaffolder or something? Nah, this was much quicker.”

“Your life sounds so interesting,” Adrien admitted. “You’ve got so many cool stories to tell.”

“Most of them are me getting into trouble though…”

“Can you tell me some more?”

“Don’t you have any stories to tell about your own life? Anything at all?”

Of course he did. Unfortunately, the only interesting things that ever happened to him were when he was Chat Noir, and he didn’t feel ready to reveal his secret identity just yet. Now that he was an adult and things were safer, he had been allowed to tell a few people – Marinette knew of course, and so did Alya and Nino. But the thought of telling anyone else was a bit too much.

He just shook his head and said, “No, my life is boring. The most fun I’ve had recently is these skating… lessons? They’re not really lessons, are they?”

“Skate dates,” Alix suggested.

“Y-yeah… skate dates.”

_Dates._ He had almost forgotten the reason he had wanted these “skate dates” in the first place, since he had just fallen straight into friendship with her. But now it came back to him, his conversation with Chloé about marriage, his father wanting him to wed someone rich as good publicity for the fashion company…

Maybe he wasn’t exactly in love with her yet. But hearing her suggest these as being “dates” just made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. And the feeling just got stronger when, just before she left, she gave him a surprisingly long hug.

 

The fourth skate date was much like the third one, but even more laid back. Sitting on the steps in front of the mansion, they discussed all the things they hadn’t managed to catch up on after leaving school. Adrien talked about supporting Nino’s career in directing movies, being a mod on the Ladyblog forums once things got too big for Alya to manage by herself, modelling clothes that Marinette made for him and persuading his father to take her on as an intern when she wasn’t busy studying…

It was nice talking to someone who would never judge what he said or expect anything of him. He didn’t have to pretend to be overly polite like with all his father’s clients – he could just say what he wanted without consequence. He had missed being able to do that, now that his other friends were all so busy and Plagg spent much of his time away or asleep.

In return he listened to Alix talking about her museum adventures. She really did seem to get into trouble a lot, something that hadn’t changed at all since school. In fact, she was such a troublemaker she admitted to keeping her pocket watch wrapped in bubble wrap most of the time so she wouldn’t accidentally break it whenever she did something stupid, like trying to climb up the side of the Louvre during akuma attacks (the only time when the security guards would be too busy to stop her).

He couldn’t help noticing her hand resting just beside his. What if he just… moved his hand over a bit… and…

But no, should he? At this point they did feel like close friends, even though it hadn’t been long, but what if that was too quick? No… of course it wasn’t, it was fine… Marinette and Alya used to hold hands all the time even before they started dating, didn’t they…?

Before he could think too hard about it, he gently, casually laid his hand over hers, fully expecting her to stop speaking and smack him or something. But instead she laced her fingers tightly through his and carried on talking without even missing a beat. She didn’t let go of his hand, not even when they finished their snack break and actually got back to skating.

Was that a friendship thing? Adrien wasn’t sure, but he _was_ sure that he was blushing over it. A lot. And he knew he must be blushing even more when he noticed that at the end of the skate date, she hugged him just a little longer and tighter than she had last time. Even after she left, he simply stood there for 10 minutes, trying to get his brain to work again.

Did he only like her now because he had been trying to like her? Or did he actually have a crush on her? Did it even _matter?_

 

Meanwhile, on her way home, Alix got a phone call from her old friends Kim and Max.

“Oh hey guys, how’s life in wherever it is you live now?”

She heard Max in the background saying, “We live in _Marseilles_ , we told you this,” at the same time that Kim screeched, “Who cares, I wanna know if you’ve managed to snag Adrien yet! Tell us everything! Tell us tell us tell us TELL US!”

“Oh my gosh, no need to be so loud about it!” She turned her phone volume down, holding it away from her ear slightly. “And it’s not that big a deal. Just chill out.”

“Oh come on, it so is a big deal!” Kim said. “I mean, isn’t your dad gonna cut you off if this doesn’t work out? I still can’t believe it.”

“Yeah, I don’t care if he cuts off my inheritance, it’s not like he ever gives Jalil any money either. The part I’m worried about is that he’s gonna take the watch back if I don’t get married soon. Something about family tradition. It’s stupid.”

“Yeah, no offence to your family, but that really is stupid.”

“Exactly. I don’t care about marriage and romance and… bleh. Stuff like that. But I would do anything to keep that watch, and that includes marrying someone who’ll be unfortunate enough to get stuck with me for the rest of their life.”

“For the record, I personally think being married is awesome. But that’s because I was lucky enough to marry Max, who is the best person in the universe after me. Hey Max, did you hear that? You’re the best!”

Alix rolled her eyes. “You two are so sappy, honestly. But anyway, I’m literally just on my way back from another skate date with Adrien, and–”

“DID YOU SAY DATE?!”

“Yes, date,” she said, holding the phone away from her ear again to avoid the worst of Kim’s loud voice. “And I know you want me to end up together with him, you suggested it so many times, you can stop making it obvious now.”

“So are you together with him yet?”

“Well I’m _trying_ , okay? But you know what I’m like. It’s not easy for me.”

“Please tell me you haven’t beaten him up or something.”

“That’s not what I meant! I meant it’s not easy for me, because I don’t want to get married and I don’t care about stuff like that. Crushes, romance, who cares? Not me. So I’ve basically managed to accidentally become best friends with Adrien instead.”

“Oh, what? He’s not going to marry you like that, is he?”

“He might! Listen, at Marinette’s wedding I was talking to her parents and they said that once you’ve been married for long enough, the lovey-dovey feelings fade and it’s basically like deep friendship. So in my case I think I just always bypass the weird lovey-dovey stage and go straight to the friendship part.”

“But that’s like… normal friendship...”

“Shush! Do you want me to marry him or not?”

“Well yes, but–”

“Then let me do this my own way. I know I can’t fall for him the way people normally do, so I’m just doing the best I can. He’s awesome. And I can’t stand the idea of marrying someone, but… if I end up close enough with him, and if I trust him enough, then maybe I will be able to ask him. And maybe he’ll say yes. And maybe I’ll be okay with that.”

“You can do it!” Kim cheered. “Go woo the heck out of him! Buy him flowers and chocolates, that’s what I do for Max, also take him out to the cinema and when it’s the scary moments of the movie then you put your arm around him and hopefully he’ll rest his head on your shoulder, and–”

“Just shut up,” she laughed, though she did store away that advice for the future. “Anyway I’m nearly home now, I’ve gotta go. My dad won’t be happy if he catches me talking to you again – he still hasn’t really forgiven me for not just marrying you.”

“Even after that time we accidentally set that tree on fire?”

“Well he’s still mad about that too, but he approves of you really. Too bad for him that I just went and purposely set you up with Max instead.”

“And it’s so good that you did! Max is the coolest, most awesome, most sweet and adorable and cute and great person ever, and I love him so much, and–”

“Okay I really am actually going now, goodbye Kim.” She hung up before having to hear more of his cheesy gushing about his husband.

Anyway, maybe he was right. She would have to step up her game if she wanted Adrien to like her enough to agree to marry her. While it felt unfair to use him like that, marrying him just to be able to keep her watch, she had already ended up much better friends with him than she had expected. Spending time with him was so much fun. And there was something just so sweet and vulnerable about him, she felt like she just wanted to always be there with him. Protect him or something.

Perhaps the best thing to do would be to be honest with him when she eventually asked him to marry her. Just outright tell him that she was only doing this because she had to, not because she wanted to. And that she really did care about him, even if it wasn’t exactly the way she was supposed to feel about someone she was asking to marry. In fact, it was lucky that she had been asked to teach him how to rollerskate. She might not have even considered him otherwise, and might have ended up with someone she didn’t like nearly so much.

But then again, he still had to say yes. It hadn’t yet been nearly long enough to ask. She would have to have many more skate dates with him, maybe be more obvious, maybe even think of doing some of that stupid cheesy stuff Kim had suggested, and most importantly just spend a lot more time with him and get to know him better so that at least she’d end up with an amazingly close friend at the end of all of this even if it didn’t work out…

She found herself looking forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2

The fifth skate date was not too different from the fourth one. They spent some of the time chatting, some of the time skating, and rather a lot of the time, well... It wasn’t that there had been a lack of physical contact before, since Adrien had kept stumbling over and Alix had to keep picking him up, but this felt different somehow. She was actually, consciously holding his hand sometimes, even though she didn’t need to. He found it comforting – he never got much physical reassurance from anyone these days, especially not from the type of person who could absolutely fearlessly beat someone up and rarely showed affection like this. The fact that she clearly thought him worth spending time with… it made his heart swell.

He still couldn’t quite figure out whether or not he had just convinced himself to like her, only because it made the prospect of marriage easier, or if he actually liked her. After all, he had never been interested in her as anything other than a friend back when they were at school. But that time he had been head over heels for Ladybug, and never really thought about anyone else.

Things were different now – and he did feel the same way about her as he had with Ladybug back then. This hadn’t happened with Chloé when he had considered marrying her, so perhaps there was actually something in it…

 

Halfway through the sixth skate date, it suddenly began to rain.

“I don’t think that’s going to clear up any time soon,” Adrien said, glancing up at the sky and seeing it covered in dark grey clouds.

“I guess this skate date is over early then…”

“Wait, don’t go home in the rain!” He took her arm in his to stop her skating off. “Why don’t you come inside for some time?”

Her face lit up. “Wait, really? Am I allowed?”

“I’m not sure, but my father’s not home right now anyway so he won’t know. You can stay until the rain stops if you want.”

“Thanks!”

He took her into the house, quickly popping into the office to ask Nathalie to get some towels to dry them off, since they were drenched and dripping rainwater everywhere. Once they were no longer completely soaked, the two of them went into Adrien’s room to wait out what seemed to have become a thunderstorm.

“We could play video games,” Adrien said, putting away his skates and helmet, “or we could just talk, or there’s plenty of other things in here for us to…”

He turned around to see her staring up at the rock climbing wall in a stunned, awed silence.

“…Or you could climb the wall, if you want.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. Without even saying a word, she scrambled up the wall so fast she was at the top in under a minute, where she half turned around and had a look down at the view.

“Dude. I want to marry your rock climbing wall.”

Adrien couldn’t help but burst into laughter – that was so close and yet so far from what he wanted.

“Seriously! You have an entire actual rock climbing wall inside your actual bedroom, that’s the coolest thing ever…”

“I don’t have much time to use it though,” he said. “But you’re always welcome to have a go on it whenever you want.”

“Really? Adrien, you’re the best!”

He blushed and looked at the ground, not even sure what to say to that.

In any case, the storm did not seem to be passing and was just getting heavier. After a few more turns climbing the wall, Alix suggested just going out and skating in the rain anyway, saying that it would be fun. Adrien knew perfectly well that he probably wouldn’t be allowed to if he asked about it… so he decided it would be better just not to ask in the first place.

They went back outside together and spent far too long splashing through the puddles in the courtyard like responsible adults, getting gross rainwater everywhere, laughing all the while. Adrien was sure he hadn’t done something so fun and reckless since back at school at least. He could just feel the stress of his modelling job and his father’s expectations lifting off his shoulders the longer he spent messing around and having fun. It was so freeing! Like being a kid again.

Eventually evening started to fall and he began to feel tired. Without caring how wet the ground was, he sat down to rest. “That was so much fun… it’s getting kind of cold now, though…”

He sneezed into his sleeve – whoops, hopefully he wasn’t ill. His father wouldn’t be too happy about that.

“It’s okay, I’m not cold, I’ll warm you up.”

Before he had time to react, she had snuggled up to him with her arms wrapped around him. He sat perfectly still, hardly even daring to breathe. He definitely was not cold anymore all of a sudden.

They sat huddled like penguins for what seemed like hours, though couldn’t possibly have been anywhere near that long, until finally the rain began to let up.

“It’s probably well past the normal time you go home at,” Adrien said.

“I know, but I don’t wanna let go,” Alix mumbled, clinging on tighter. “You’re comfy.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, trust me. I don’t even like hugs. You seem to be the exception.”

Adrien felt like his insides were turning into gooey mush. He buried his face in her hair, trying to hide how much he was blushing. “That’s r-really sweet of you…”

“That’s another exception. Usually if someone calls me sweet, I will punch them. But you’re allowed to do it, okay? You’re adorable.”

“Me? Adorable?” He giggled into her hair, his voice sounding muffled.

“Yeah, you! You’re totally adorable!”

“You’re m-making me blush…”

“Good. Listen, not only are you adorable, I will fight anyone who says otherwise. Or if anyone says or does anything bad to you ever, I will fight them. Okay?”

That was so sweet, he could feel tears pricking at his eyes. “P-please don’t fight anyone…”

“I’m gonna fight everyone,” she whispered in his ear, sending sudden shivers down his spine. “Everyone except you, because like I said… you’re adorable.”

That was it – he wanted to just marry her on the spot. He might even have asked to right there and then, if Nathalie hadn’t opened the mansion front door at that exact moment, causing them to spring apart rather suddenly.

“Adrien, you’ve been out there for far too long, you’ll get ill! I let you have your fun and I won’t tell your father, but it’s time to have dinner now…”

He reluctantly got to his feet. “Alright, I’ll come inside, thank you Nathalie…”

“I’ll go get a towel to dry you off again.”

Nathalie went back in and shut the door. Adrien couldn’t help but wonder if she was leaving him plenty of time alone with Alix on purpose because she had figured out what he was up to… he wouldn’t put it past her.

“I should probably go home now,” Alix said. “But remember what I told you. You’re adorable, and I’m gonna fight everyone.”

He started giggling again, shivering from the cold now that he wasn’t sharing her body heat. Or perhaps that wasn’t the cold he was shivering from…

She gave him a goodbye hug, so tight that he was sure he heard his joints crack a little. He hugged her tightly in return, lifting her slightly off the ground. It took them a while to let go, and once she had gone it took him a while to stop smiling like an idiot.

He turned to see Nathalie there again, watching from the doorstep with a rare smile on her face. Yep, she knew alright.

 

At some point before the next skate date, Adrien had been down to visit Marinette and Alya in their flat. He was proud to see that they had adopted a little black cat who they named “Adrien”, though it did get a little confusing when both Adriens were around at the same time. Plagg constantly insisted that the cat should have been named after him instead, but Tikki reminded him that she didn’t have any actual ladybugs named after her, nor Trixx with foxes, so he shouldn’t take it too personally.

On the way back home, allowed to walk freely down the streets as a normal citizen for once without his bodyguard hulking over him, he spotted Alix. It was strange seeing her someplace other than the courtyard in front of his house, almost like he’d forgotten she actually had a life outside of their frequent meetups despite her always telling him about it.

“Oh, hey Adrien!” She waved at him from the distance and then…

Was she _gliding?_

Just zooming across the ground towards him, without even needing to take a step?

“W-what… how…”

“They’re just Heelys,” she chuckled as she came to a stop in front of him. “Shoes with a hidden wheel on the underside so you can skate wherever you want.”

Bending down, she took off one of them and showed him. Sure enough, there was a little wheel right there, unable to be seen from the normal angle.

“Are they hard to use?” Adrien asked her.

“Nah, they’re super easy to get the hang of. I should get you a pair too!”

“Then I could trick people as well. I thought you were flying or something, like some kind of… ethereal… angel…”

“Angel? I’m literally dressed all in black!”

“Well, I can’t tell if you looked more like an angel or a demon. But definitely some sort of ethereal being.”

“Awesome. So yeah, should I get you Heelys, then?”

He quickly shook his head. “I can buy them myself, it’s alright, you don’t have to–”

“Nope, I’m buying them for you. In fact, I’ll just tell you right now that Heelys are going to be your birthday present. So don’t buy any before then.”

“Alright then. I’ll look forward to it! And what should I get you for your birthday?”

“It doesn’t matter because you’ll never be able to outdo the hologram pocket watch. But concert tickets to see Jagged Stone would be nice.”

He knew perfectly well he would be able to get hold of those easily. “How many tickets? Is it just for you, or…”

“Two. One for you, one for me. Obviously.”

He tried to reply, but… did she just do what he thought she did? Invited him for a birthday concert date? Just the two of them? Their skate dates were one thing, but actually going elsewhere to places together, especially things like concerts, and especially on special occasions like birthdays… it just seemed kind of… _romantic._

“I… yeah… I’ll… I’ll get the t-tickets…”

“And I’ll get the Heelys. Anyway I’m late for work – I’ll see you soon!” She grinned and gently punched his arm, then skated off on her Heelys.

Angel, demon… whatever she was, she was amazing.

 

The seventh skate date was fun, as usual. She had asked if he wanted to go and visit the museum with her afterwards, and he had wanted more than anything to accept, but unluckily his schedule was completely full that day so he had to decline. It just seemed so unfair that even as an adult, it felt like he didn’t have much control over his life. He was always at the mercy of his strict schedule, and by extension, his strict father.

Or so it seemed.

“Adrien, your schedule for this afternoon has been cancelled,” Gabriel said as soon as Adrien came inside. “You are free to do as you please for the rest of the day.”

Adrien looked up at his father, standing up there at the top of the steps, unable to believe his ears.

“Father, thank you so much! But why…?”

“Nathalie has informed me that your friend would like to show you an exhibit at the museum, and I feel that it would be an informative experience for you. You may go if you want.”

“I certainly will – thank you!”

No point wasting any time. He dropped all his skating kit on the floor and ran back out of the door, through the courtyard and onto the street where he managed to catch up with Alix.

“Adrien? Everything okay?”

He leaned over to catch his breath. “Father… cancelled schedule… I can go to the museum with you after all…”

“Nice! Why did he do that though? I thought you said he’s always really strict!”

Adrien shrugged and didn’t say anything, though he had an inkling. Since Nathalie had clearly been spying on them enough to know Alix had asked Adrien to the museum, she and Gabriel were probably setting those two up on purpose. Well, Adrien was not complaining. This was great!

Their museum date did not last too long, as the museum was closing fairly soon and since Alix was already notorious for sneakily staying behind after hours, security was keeping a very close eye on her to make sure she definitely left before the doors shut. It was fun while it lasted, though, wandering around with their arms linked up, getting to look around at everything that she had told him about during their skate dates.

“We need to hang out like this more often,” she told him at the end, once security had finally kicked them out to lock the doors. “I don’t just mean skate dates. I mean… actual… well…”

Actual dates. If only he had the time for more of those.

“I’ll try,” he promised. “If my father lets me off more, I definitely will. Speaking of my father, I should probably get home for dinner now…”

“I’ll see you soon then. Thanks for coming along.”

They shared their usual goodbye hug – which Adrien noticed had progressively been getting slightly longer each time. By now it was somewhere in the vicinity of 3 minutes, perhaps a little longer. At this rate they would practically be living in each other’s arms by Christmas…

It was quite a nice thought.

 

The eighth skate date was interrupted by a skype call from Kim, who insisted that Alix and Adrien should race each other while he watched through the screen with a bucket of popcorn. Alix won fairly easily, being the better skater by far, but Kim told Adrien to keep trying until he had finally beaten her. It took at least an hour, and both of them were exhausted by the time Kim finally disconnected, laughing and boasting that he could have done much better.

Adrien sat down against the courtyard wall, chugging as much water from his water bottle as he could manage without choking.

“Ignore Kim, it’s easy for him to show off when he’s just chilling at home not doing anything,” Alix said, sitting down beside Adrien and putting a comforting arm around him. “You did well.”

“Thanks.” He put the water bottle down and rested his head on her shoulder. “Though since I did manage to win at least one race against you, do I get a prize?”

“Sure, what do you want?”

“Hmm… how about a picnic tomorrow?”

She laughed and ruffled his hair. “Jeez, you’re so _nice_ , it’s the best thing ever. Back when Kim challenged me to stuff all the time, the loser always had to do some stupid forfeit and the winner would get money or chocolate or something. But you just ask for a picnic? Dang, I should have hung out with you more often back at school.”

“Well at least you’re making up for it now, right?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I am.”

They rested together, leaning on each other, for long enough that they didn’t get back to skating that day at all. Adrien realized that he had never before had someone he was so comfortable with when it came to physical contact – even he and Ladybug tended to leave it be at fist bumps and the occasional hug, especially in the past few years. Yet now, here sitting in the sun with Alix, he could stay like this forever and never feel like moving…

It had happened so gradually he hadn’t even noticed until now just how close they had become. It hadn’t even taken very long. Evidently their years of knowing each other at school had somehow given them a head start. And the only other people who he was this close with knew his big secret, the fact that he was one of the iconic Parisian superheroes often saving the city…

Was it time to tell Alix this too?

 

The picnic date in the park the next day did not go on for very long before an akuma attack occurred. Though attacks were less frequent these days, they still did happen, and apparently had really annoying timing. Adrien managed to get away on some excuse and transform into Chat Noir, joining Ladybug in the fight against the villain, who seemed to be attacking mostly with books.

“Use your Cataclysm to distract him!” Ladybug said. “Then I’ll go get the bookmark – I bet that’s where the akuma is.”

“Fine…”

“Chat, you alright? You seem…”

“Grumpy,” he muttered, crossing his arms. “Yes, I’m grumpy.”

“Is everything okay?”

“This akuma just had to turn up right _now_ , didn’t it? Not when I was in the middle of some boring photo shoot or something, but when I was on a date?”

Ladybug turned to him, her mouth hanging open in surprise. “Oh my gosh, you were on a date? With who?”

“Well it’s not really a date, just a kind of hangout, I don’t really–”

“I bet it was Alix! It was, wasn’t it?”

He wondered if he was blushing under the mask. “How did you know?”

“You keep talking about her, it’s not hard to figure out. Anyway don’t worry too much about this attack, I can handle it. You’d better get back to Alix before she figures out your identity. I made that mistake with Alya, remember? Just use your Cataclysm and get out of here, I’ll sort out the rest by myself.”

“Thanks, Ladybug.”

Leaping into action, he distracted the villain with his destructive powers. As soon as he saw Ladybug sneakily taking the bookmark, he ran straight back to the park to find Alix.

“Oh good, you’re safe!” he called, seeing her peeking out from behind a nearby building in an alleyway.

“Chat Noir?” She stepped out of the alleyway. “Hey, have you seen Adrien? He was around here somewhere, we were on a picnic date and I have no idea where he went…”

So she was calling it a date too? He ignored the warning bleeps his ring was giving him and scooped her up into his arms. “It’s not that safe here, the Bibliovile might see you. Let’s get you out of here.”

“Your ring, it’s making that noise, you’re gonna detransform–”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He took her through the alleyway until they were quite a way off from the villain, unable to hear him rampaging anymore. His ring bleeped urgently again, but he still ignored it.

“Seriously, you’re gonna detransform, you should probably hide or something,” Alix said. “Sounds like you’ve only got like a minute left.”

It was jarring how differently she was treating him now that he was Chat Noir. Her voice lacked its normal warmth and had reverted to the monotone she reserved for strangers. Despite the fact that he was still carrying her in his arms, she was barely even holding onto him, like it didn’t matter to her one way or another. It felt so unusual, so unreal, and not in a good way.

“Really, don’t worry about it,” he said to her. “Just wait. You’ll see.”

“What? Are you showing me your civilian identity or something? It’s okay, honestly, I don’t really care.”

“You will.”

“Um, okay…”

It almost physically hurt to see the indifferent, slightly unimpressed expression on her face, directed at him. He was so used to her smiling, being nice to him… Experiencing how she treated strangers was quite unnerving.

His ring gave a final few bleeps, then its magic gave way and he detransformed back into Adrien.

For several seconds she just stared at him in shock.

“Surprise, it’s me,” he said feebly, wondering what her reaction would be.

“It’s… you…”

“Yep.”

She stared for a few more seconds, completely silent. Then her expression suddenly changed to one of sheer delight.

“So you’re telling me – it was YOU this whole time! You’re – you – this whole entire time, you’ve been a superhero – an actual SUPERHERO–”

Bursting into amazed laughter, she threw her arms around him and hugged him so tightly he saw stars.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner!” he said.

“Don’t worry,” she mumbled into the side of his neck, still hugging him. “This is the coolest surprise ever. I can’t believe it… you’re the actual Chat Noir… and there I was thinking you couldn’t possibly get any cooler…”

Feeling a little giddy with relief, he leaned against the wall, still holding her in his arms. She was just so light. Even without the extra strength his Miraculous gave him when he was transformed he could pick her up easily.

“I thought it was time I should tell you,” he said. “Since we’re…”

Friends? Best friends? It seemed too limited at this point.

“…so close,” she suggested, lifting her head away from his neck and resting her forehead against his.

“Y-yeah, close…”

They really were close, quite literally, so close he could feel her breath. For the first time he wondered what would happen if he just tilted his head a bit and kissed her. The thought made his heart flutter like it was filled with purified akumas.

He leaned forwards a little, but his nose accidentally bumped against hers. Embarrassed, he leaned back and turned away.

“That was the most cat-like thing ever,” she said, starting to laugh again.

“What do you mean…?”

“Nose boops. That’s a cat thing, isn’t it?”

“I think so.”

“So you really are a cat, and more than just as a superhero!”

He started laughing too, especially when she then pulled his face towards hers and booped his nose again. And again. And again…

 

The ninth skate date did not even involve any skating, since it was so hot outside that neither of them wanted to do anything. They lazed about in the sun, barefoot, their skating equipment lying untouched next to them.

“So this is your Miraculous,” Alix said, leaning against his arm and fiddling with his fingers. “I remember you having this ring back in school too.”

“You really remember that?”

“Yeah, I just thought you must be a fan of Chat Noir, though. It didn’t even occur to me that it’s actually you.”

“When people asked me about it I just used to say this ring was a special present from my family. I, uh, got the idea from your watch actually.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the watch in question, covered in protective bubble wrap.

“You haven’t seen this thing up close, have you?” she asked, carefully unwrapping it. “I mean, you have, but… not since I got akumatized… anyway, you can have a look now.” She thrust the watch into his hands.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s yours… a family heirloom, and…”

“It’s okay, I trust you. Go ahead.”

He pressed the button on the lid, which sprung open to reveal a little blue hologram inside – a lady dressed in historical clothing, holding up a clock that displayed the time.

“Whoa… it’s beautiful…”

“I know, right?”

He closed the lid again and gave it back to her. “Thank you for showing me, but I should give it back quickly in case I break it… considering I have the powers of destruction…”

“You’re no more likely to break it than anyone else,” she chuckled. “But I haven’t really showed it properly to anyone else before so I don’t really know.”

“Wait, really? You haven’t showed it to anyone else at all?”

“Nope, just you. I’ve never really liked anyone so much before.” She rested her head on his arm again. “I always felt kinda like a third wheel with Kim and Max, and I never really knew anyone else very well… except you now… so, um, you’re kind of special to me.”

He gently ran his fingers through her hair. “You’re special to me too…”

“And if you keep playing with my hair like that then I’m gonna fall asleep. Which is a good thing actually, please keep going.”

He did keep going, for so long he felt like he might fall asleep too. Had he ever felt this peaceful before? Relaxing out here in the sun with someone important to him, not even needing to speak, just each other’s company being enough?

 

The tenth skate date was still too hot for skating, though they did try for a while. They ended up chatting about Adrien’s double life as a superhero, something that he enjoyed being able to discuss now.

“…and I don’t know where Plagg is, he always goes and hangs out with the other kwamis all the time, or just eats cheese and sleeps, but I’ll definitely introduce him at some point.”

“How do you even keep him hidden?”

“I don’t even know! I’m surprised more people haven’t figured out that I’m Chat Noir yet, to be honest.”

“It’s because you act different. When you’re Adrien you’re all sweet and polite and reserved, and when you’re Chat Noir you’re all adventurous and dorky and flirty.”

“Which do you prefer?”

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, but he needn’t have worried.

“Both are great. I mean, you’re the same person, right? These days you always act like a mix of the two with me anyway.”

“You’ve known me as Adrien for most of my life though, so what about if I started being extra Chat Noir?” He twirled around rather theatrically and gave a bow.

“I can’t even lie, now that I know it’s you, that’s just… adorable…”

“You’ve _cat_ to be _kitten_ me!”

“That one was absolutely _pawful_ …”

“Well I think it was _punderful_ …”

She laughed. “I can handle puns as long as you don’t start calling me ‘princess’ or ‘my lady’ or that cheesy stuff I’ve seen on the Ladyblog.”

“What should I call you then?”

“How about ‘the coolest person ever’?”

“Alright then, ‘the coolest person ever’, Chat Noir is at your service.” He knelt down and kissed her hand before he could think too hard about what he was doing.

But wait… there was some kind of fragrance…

“What hand cream do you use?” he asked, holding her hand back up to his face. Yes, the fragrance was definitely coming from there.

“Hand cream? I don’t bother with that stuff…”

“But your hand smells so nice! Is it perfume?”

“I haven’t worn perfume in like 10 years.”

“It’s like lavender… and something else, I can’t tell…”

“Oh, that! It’s just the handwash we’ve got at home. It does smell good, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah…”

She held her other hand out to him too. “You can, um, keep inhaling it if you want. I guess.”

Was it just a trick of the light, or was she actually _blushing_ a little? In any case, he took both her hands in his and breathed in deeply, feeling his lungs fill with lavender.

Perhaps he should have stopped then. This was starting to feel so romantic and if he kept going then it would be too obvious, wouldn’t it? But more than anything he was just aching to put another little kiss on her fingers, and holding them close like this was so sweet he felt like he was going to melt…

It was a suspiciously long time indeed before he let go of her hands and stood up again. She hadn’t said anything. There seemed to be something left unspoken in the air between them.

And glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, too overwhelmed right not to do anything more than that… she was definitely blushing.

 

At some point before the next skate date they took a night off to go for a game of bowling together, followed by a movie at the cinema. Afterwards they trudged back towards the Agreste mansion, the dark streets somewhat lit up by the moonlight.

“I love movies like that,” Alix said, holding his hand and swinging it a little as they walked. “Ones without annoying romantic subplots.”

“To tell the truth I love romantic movies,” Adrien said, grinning. “I know they’re cheesy, but…”

“Of course you love them, you’re adorable! I’m just weird, don’t worry. Romance isn’t my thing. And it always reminds me of… well… you know, marriage and stuff.”

Adrien felt a nervous twinge. “Yeah… stressful stuff…”

“Exactly. My dad said I have to marry someone soon. He’s such a stickler for tradition. And if I don’t get married soon, he’ll cut off my inheritance and take the watch back…”

“What? That’s awful!”

“I know!”

“And I thought I was under pressure to get married…”

“You too, huh?”

Adrien nodded, squeezing her hand a little tighter for reassurance. “My father keeps insisting I marry someone from a wealthy, respectable family so that it’s good publicity for his company. Chloé and Lila are out of the question, and, well…”

He trailed off, realizing he might have given away a little too much.

“That must be so annoying,” Alix said. “I guess at least my dad doesn’t care too much who I marry as long as I’m happy with them… which is… nigh-impossible, if I’m honest…”

“Really? Why?”

“Like I said, romance isn’t my thing,” she muttered, looking at the ground. “And that seems to matter to other people so much. Like, I know I care about people! Maybe I don’t get crushes or dream about making out or settling down with someone, but I can still _love_ people. But I don’t know if anyone would ever agree to spend their life with me if I wasn’t in love with them the way I’m supposed to be.”

He stopped and turned to face her directly, taking her other hand in his too. “Alix, I promise you could definitely find someone who would agree to that! You’re so awesome, anyone would be lucky to have someone like you!”

“Thanks,” she said, smiling a little. “I do hate the idea of having to get married just for the sake of it, but if I was close enough friends with someone and cared about them enough then I probably wouldn’t mind so much. I’d get to hang out with them more that way, right? I wouldn’t even mind doing all the cheesy, stereotypical romantic stuff if that made them happy. Well… with exceptions. Which is what no one would agree to.”

“I’m sure there are lots of people who would be fine with all of that!”

“ _Exceptions_ , Adrien, the kind that no one will be okay with. Mainly, no kids. Or at least I’m not having them, nor ever doing anything that might accidentally lead to some. If my future mystery spouse really wants kids they can go get some from the orphanage and go pay to have their fun elsewhere. I’m sorry, it just all sounds too gross to me and I’m not comprising. I’ll gladly look after a kid or two as long as I don’t have to help make them.”

“Wait… you feel that way too?” Adrien said, relief flooding through him. “I thought I was the only one!”

“You too? Oh thank god!” She jumped forwards and enveloped him in a hug, which he gladly returned.

“You’ll find someone,” he said. “You won’t have to give your watch back or settle for less. You’ll definitely find someone, I promise.”

“Yeah, you’re right… and you’ll find someone too…”

Should he say what was on his mind? He hardly dared to, and yet…

“I think I have found someone,” he said quietly. “But I’m not sure.”

She reached up onto tiptoes and breathed into his ear, “I think I’ve found someone too.”

So close, he could smell the lavender handwash, feel her hair tickling the side of his face, his hand just resting over the bare strip of skin on her waist where her t-shirt had lifted up…

He could tell. He could just _tell_. They were both thinking the exact same thing. The question of a marriage between them hung over their heads, unaddressed.

It must be so obvious to her that he had asked her to teach him how to skate just to get to know someone else from a rich family. And it was obvious to him that she was being overly nice because she wanted to show him she cared, even if it wasn’t exactly the passionate kind of love that was expected from relationships.

The most obvious thing, though, was that it was now apparent that they had both wanted to marry each other from the beginning.

He might even have said something about it, if he hadn’t got an annoyingly ill-timed phone call from Nino at that exact moment, putting an end to the pensive moment.

 

The eleventh skate date was filled with more conversation about superheroes. Adrien always loved talking about this side of himself, considering that he had gone years without having anyone to discuss it with. The topic soon turned to Ladybug.

“I do know her secret identity,” Adrien said, “but I really can’t tell you. I mean, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you knowing, since you know I’m Chat Noir, but…”

“It’s okay, if she wants to do it she’ll tell me herself,” Alix replied.

“And for the record, I know everyone in Paris thinks Ladybug and I are a couple but we’re actually not. I swear. We were into each other for a while in our teenage years but things worked out differently and she ended up with someone else.”

“Oh yeah, I remember at school everyone could tell you had a crush on Ladybug.”

Adrien couldn’t help blushing. “Was I that obvious?”

“Yep. I’m super bad at noticing this stuff and even I can easily tell when you have a crush on someone.”

He quickly looked away when he saw that she was smirking at him. She knew, didn’t she? She knew perfectly well he liked her! He wasn’t even sure whether he wanted her to bring it up, or whether that would be too terrifying a conversation to deal with right now.

“So anyway,” she said, “should we get back to skating now?”

Adrien nodded, feeling both relieved and a little disappointed at the subject change. He knew he should probably actually _do_ something, like tell her how he felt, or otherwise nothing would ever happen! But he had never really been any good at that before, and it was so nerve-wracking…

At the end of the skate date they shared their usual goodbye hug, now somewhere around 5 minutes. It was completely ridiculous, he knew it, but it just felt wrong to let go too soon. These overly long hugs just felt so special to him now.

Just before finally letting go, Alix hopped up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“See you later!” she laughed, finger-gunning at him and rushing off quickly.

Adrien simply stood there for several minutes, wondering how she could have made something like that seem so _natural_. They were both so physically affectionate with each other these days that a kiss on the cheek was not really a big leap, but all the same…

 

It began raining again during the twelfth skate date. Rather than going inside, Adrien grabbed the old umbrella that Marinette had finally returned to him, and he and Alix sat underneath it together outside on the steps.

“Adrien, I have a confession to make,” she told him. “Years ago, when I was akumatized, I killed you in one timeline. You probably don’t remember it. I don’t remember it that clearly either, but I know that you were trying to protect Ladybug and I… I know it’s not my fault, but I guess I should say sorry anyway…”

“It’s okay, Ladybug’s already told me about it. It’s Hawk Moth’s fault, not yours.”

“I know, it just… still haunts me sometimes…”

The look in her eyes was so unusually vulnerable, like her normal fighting spirit had all drained away. He hadn’t realized it had affected her that much – he had always thought someone like her wouldn’t really be too bothered about what her rather impressive villain self had done. He wished he could help somehow. But how? He couldn’t change the past.

“You can always talk to me about it,” he said finally, putting an arm around her. “I’m here for you.”

She looked almost at a loss for words. “Adrien… I swear… you are the sweetest cinnamon roll in this universe…”

“You’re awesome too, you know.”

“Yeah but seriously… I would do anything for you, okay? _Anything._ ”

The way she was gazing at him in earnest, more emotion in her voice than he had ever heard before… He didn’t even need to think. He just pulled her a little closer and planted a kiss on her nose.

“I would do anything for you too.”

 

The skies were clear and sunny again for the thirteenth skate date. Once more the two of them sat on the steps, not even bothering to pretend that they were skating.

“My father will be away on the weekend,” Adrien said, “but he said that after our next skate date, um, you’re allowed to stay for the night if you like. Because you love the rock climbing wall and deserve to spend more time on it.”

“Really? Awesome! I will so be doing that.”

Adrien wasn’t even sure how his father had agreed to what was essentially a sleepover, especially since Adrien wasn’t a kid anymore, but he suspected Nathalie may have had something to do with it. Glancing at the windows he tried to see if she was spying on them, but he couldn’t spot her anywhere. In that case she was probably using the security cameras to keep an eye on them.

“I haven’t had a sleepover in so long,” Alix continued. “I’ll be sensible, I swear. It’ll be nothing like… uh, that one time with Kim.”

“The one where you set fire to a tree?”

“That was his fault, okay?”

“Of course it was,” Adrien said, laughing. “He’s so reckless.”

“Yeah, even more than me. But then again, you probably can’t tell. I think I’m just somehow more sensible around you. You’ve been a good influence on me.”

“Oh, thanks!”

She gave his hair a quick ruffle. “Anyway, a sleepover will be fun. Do I need to bring anything? Hey, do you want me to bring some of that lavender handwash you love so you can use it yourself? Or… is it better like this…?”

She was holding her hand up in front of his nose.

“It’s, um… I don’t mind…” He could smell the lavender, but it wasn’t the lavender that was making his heart beat fast.

“Then I won’t bring it. You seem perfectly happy getting your lavender fix from me, so… go ahead… if you want…”

Gently taking her hand in his own, he savoured the familiar lavender scent that would always remind him of her. Just something about it seemed to make his brain fire at twice the normal speed, like he just wanted to sit here breathing in the faint fumes of lavender handwash forever, if only because it meant her hand was so close to him, so dizzyingly close…

Was she going to say something? She hadn’t yet, and he didn’t even dare look at her expression. He closed his eyes and pressed her fingers to his lips.

This was not platonic at all, oh boy, it was very unmistakeably not platonic. Most of their interactions usually fell somewhere along the line between platonic and romantic, but this was not ambiguous whatsoever. He knew if he kept going it would become so clear that she would bring it up, of course she would, and that was so daunting and yet he wanted it so much…

His courage ran out. He dropped her hand and half turned aside, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck awkwardly. “I… um… I was just…”

The next thing he knew, she had grabbed his shirt and pulled him down so he was lying on his back over her lap, staring up at her.

“You were just being adorable, that’s what.”

The sun was in his eyes so much that he could barely see a thing. It didn’t matter though – he could feel her holding his hands up to her face, just like he had been doing, faintly brushing her lips over his knuckles almost like borderline kisses.

She didn’t even have an excuse! Adrien’s handwash was nothing special, and anyway he was sure his palms had been sweaty enough that any trace of fragrance would have been long gone. No, she was doing this simply because she wanted to. Because she cared about him enough.

For what felt like hours he lay there, wondering if there was even any point saying anything. Things were pretty clear even without outright saying it. And things became even clearer when she finally put his hand down and leaned right over him, blocking out the sun enough that he could properly see her face.

Was she about to kiss him? It certainly seemed like it.

The door of the mansion opened suddenly. Adrien sat up at lightspeed to see his bodyguard standing at the door, looking surprised as if he hadn’t expected to see them there. The Gorilla quickly shuffled around them and headed towards the garage, evidently in need of the car.

The moment was ruined now anyway.

“I think I have to go now,” Alix said, clicking open her pocket watch to check the time. “But, uh, I guess I’ll see you on the weekend for that sleepover?”

Adrien nodded, unable to speak right now. They shared their overly long hug, though it seemed strangely superficial compared with the kind of intimacy they had just had going on, and then she left.

 

The fourteenth skate date also did not involve any skating, since they just skipped straight to the sleepover. Alix spent most of the evening going up and down the rock climbing wall, quicker and quicker every time, adamant on constantly beating her record. She had already beaten Adrien’s by far. After that they had dinner, then built a pillow fort like the responsible adults they were, and even had a bit of a pillow fight.

By the time they were actually ready for bed, they were both exhausted. Adrien had decided to let her have the bed and he could sleep on the floor or the sofa for once. His room was huge, there was plenty of space.

“Goodnight Adrien,” she said, lying on the bed in her pyjamas.

“Yeah, goodnight…”

He wandered over and picked up her hand, lifting it to his face and expecting to breathe the familiar lavender scent… but of course it wasn’t there this time. She was in his house. The scent was of his own boring handwash. Somehow, though, it didn’t deter him at all. They both knew the lavender handwash was just a pathetic excuse.

Suddenly she pulled him down into a hug, right there lying on the bed.

“You can stay here if you want,” she murmured, right into his ear. “I hate sharing beds usually, but occasionally it’s okay. Especially if it’s you.”

“Thanks, that’s really sweet,” he replied, shuffling into a slightly more comfortable position before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

He closed his eyes, ready to go to sleep in a hug for the first time… then opened them again when he felt her giving him a kiss on his own cheek in return.

It wasn’t even a quick one. It was slow, deliberate… and reminded him that this time, there was no Gorilla or Nathalie to suddenly ruin the moment by accident, no one here to interrupt what could be a relationship upgrade. But it could only be a relationship upgrade if he tried to make it one.

It was hard to see in the dark as his eyes weren’t yet accustomed to it. He put a kiss on where he guessed her nose was, and got one in return. Then her forehead, and got _two_ in return…

He was so sleepy he wasn’t even sure what he was doing. Was this even real? Was it just a dream, and he was already asleep? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he was getting his face plastered with little kisses, and he liked it.

His eyes gradually got used to the dark enough for him to see better. He looked down at her and suddenly realized he hadn’t kissed her _properly_ yet, on the lips, and he wondered if he even dared do it. But unless his eyes were tricking him, it seemed like she was looking at his lips too, as if she also was thinking about it…

It was late. He was too tired to think properly. Brushing a few strands of hair away from her face, he pressed his lips onto hers and kissed her softly.

He hadn’t expected it to last longer than a few seconds, but to his surprise she pulled him down even closer, clinging onto him so tightly he could barely move, curling her legs around him, her fingers intertwining with locks of his hair…

 

When he woke up in the morning he saw that she was already awake, laying there playing a game on her phone. Memories of last night returned to him – did he actually kiss her? Was that a dream? In any case, he felt somewhat embarrassed now that it was daylight.

“Good morning,” he mumbled, “hope you slept well… um… about last night, I just… I was tired and I guess I might have… well, it might have been a dream, but–”

She didn’t even let him finish, she just grabbed his face and kissed him again. “Good morning to you too babe. And nope, it wasn’t a dream.”

It wasn’t a dream… did that mean…

“Are we… _together_ now?” he asked.

“Sure. Let’s be real, we’ve been ‘together’ for weeks already. But I guess you get to be officially my boyfriend now.”

He couldn’t even say anything – he just smiled into his hands, knowing he was blushing hard, and knowing that it didn’t even matter anymore if she noticed that or not.


	3. Chapter 3

The fifteenth skate date really did properly count as a date this time. Adrien spotted Nathalie spying on them from one of the windows and he glared at her until she went away, though he knew she probably was just going to go spy from the security cameras instead. She was far too invested in his love life.

He knew he should probably bring up the topic of marriage again, considering that both he and Alix were being pressured into it, but it still felt so quick. They had barely been together for a week yet. All the same, time was running out – he didn’t want her to have to give her watch back.

“So remember how Marinette and Alya got married?” he said, trying to sound casual. “Turns out they’re planning to both propose to Nino too. I didn’t even know three-way marriages were a thing but apparently it’s possible.”

“Yeah, it is,” she said. “Juleka said Rose was planning to marry her as well once Prince Ali ascends the throne and can do whatever he wants.”

“Wow, really? Are there even any straight people from our old collège class?”

“Other than Ivan and Mylène I don’t think so… unless you are?”

He shook his head. “I used to have the biggest crush on Kim.”

“He used to have the biggest crush on you too, you know. Maybe in some alternate universe the two of you got together.”

“Well, I like how things turned out in this universe.”

“I like this universe too – I get to be the one who ends up with you.”

Compliments from her still made him blush, even though he was used to it by now. He was tempted to kiss her but a little earlier he had found out the hard way that it was pretty tricky when they both had helmets on. He settled for giving her a peck on her lavender-scented hand instead.

Anyway, maybe it was a good thing he couldn’t kiss her right now. No doubt Nathalie would be watching, and it would be rather embarrassing to know she’d seen something like that.

 

By the time the sixteenth skate date rolled round, there really was no point to actually skating.

“I’m not going to get any better by just skating around this tiny courtyard over and over again,” Adrien said. “I know we’re supposed to stay here but we’re adults, we can leave if we want… go skate elsewhere or some other terrain so that I actually know what that’s like…”

“So you want to sneak off,” said Alix. “Won’t we get caught?”

“My father isn’t here right now and I don’t think Nathalie would bother stopping us, if she even notices.” Of course she would notice, but she probably just wouldn’t care.

“I can’t believe it, Adrien Agreste is asking me to break the rules? I’ve been a bad influence on you!”

“Oh come on, please? It’s such a beautiful day, and…” He put his arms around her and pulled her closer. “…it’ll be fun… just the two of us…” Slumping over, he rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Dude, are you trying to like, seduce me into sneaking off with you or something?”

“Um…”

“…’cause it’s totally working. Let’s go.”

The gates at the front of the mansion suddenly opened remotely. Adrien turned to see Nathalie giving him a thumbs up from the window.

“So she really has been spying on us,” he muttered. “Well at least if we get out of here then she won’t be able to…”

“And at least she probably won’t tell your dad, right? Anyway, let’s go have some fun!”

Alix grabbed his hand and then whizzed off, pulling him along after her.

Skating through various parts of Paris was very different to the courtyard that Adrien was used to. He stumbled and fell far more often than he should have, never getting enough momentum to go uphill properly, tripping over the cracks in the pavement. It was so much more real, and a lot more fun than just that dreary courtyard.

Once they were tired out they bought some snacks from the bakery where Marinette used to live, saying a quick hello to her parents while they were there, then they found an empty alleyway to cuddle up in. Since no one was around to spy on them for once and neither of them were on the verge of falling asleep, everything seemed twice as intimate as usual. Adrien had never made out with anyone before and it was leaving him so flustered – though Alix kept breaking off into fits of laughter, saying that kissing for more than a few seconds at a time was just _funny_ to her.

By the time they got back to the mansion, Adrien was feeling over the moon. “You should stay for dinner next time,” he said on a whim. “I know my father wants to properly meet you. He’s not here today but he will be next time.”

“Dinner would be awesome,” she said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

 

Said dinner took place after the seventeenth skate date. Gabriel Agreste was being much nicer than usual, and even Nathalie seemed to be smiling a lot. It was obvious to Adrien that they highly approved of the fact that he was in a relationship with someone whose family was just as wealthy as theirs.

He wondered if they would have been as happy to see him with someone less well-off – what if things had worked out between him and Marinette after all? Would they be happy to see him happy? Or would they dismiss that and urge him to go for someone else? He suspected it would be the latter, which was not a pleasant thought.

After dinner he was sent to the gate to see Alix off. Part of him wondered if he should just propose right now, since it was clear everyone in his household wanted him to. But it still just felt so fast to him. He wished he’d had the time and space to do this properly, rather than because he was under pressure, and he knew she felt the same way.

“I guess the next time I see you will be on your birthday,” she said. “You already know what present I’m getting you, don’t you?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said, grinning as he remembered it. “I can’t wait.”

“Me too. And also I am taking you out to a fancy restaurant for dinner. This is not optional.”

He gave her the brightest smile he possibly could. “Even if it was, I would accept, because… I’d get to hang out with you more… and you’re really awesome…”

“If you keep being this adorable I’m just gonna kidnap you and take you home with me,” she muttered under her breath.

“I wouldn’t mind!”

“I can’t, my dad would kill me! And then you’d never get your birthday Heelys.”

“Alright…”

Seeing her smiling at him so sweetly, half illuminated by moonlight… there was something so magical about it. It filled him up with so many emotions all of a sudden that he wondered if he was about to start crying.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, her smile turning to a look of concern.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he blurted out.

She didn’t reply; she just stared at him.

“I mean I know I liked you before, but now I think it’s… it’s more than a crush. It’s… real. And I’ve n-never felt like this before.”

He had no idea where the courage to say all this was coming from. It was like it had built up inside him and was now forcing its way out, whether he wanted it to or not. She deserved to know how he felt about her.

“Adrien…” She stepped towards him and gently hugged him. “I’ve never been so close with someone before. And I guess… I’m as close to being in love with you as I could be. Because you mean a lot to me, and I care about you so much, and… that’s basically what love is, right?”

“R-right…”

“So yeah. I love you too.”

Tears were welling up in his eyes, and it was taking all his effort not to cry. People had told him they loved him before, but never like this. This was something special. Holding onto her tight, they didn’t let go of each other for at least 10 minutes. By the end of it Adrien had made up his mind – he wanted to marry her. He wanted it so much. And he would do it.

 

Walking back home from Adrien’s house, Alix got a phone call from Kim.

“Have you married him yet???”

“No, you idiot, do you think I would have married him without telling you?”

“Well maybe! Anyway, please tell me you’ve at least proposed to him.”

“No, not yet.”

“Well hurry up and get a move on!”

“I know, I know, I will…”

“Oh, and your brother wants to talk to you.”

Alix was sure she hadn’t heard right. “What, Jalil? He’s not there, is he?”

“Yeah he is, he’s got a few weeks of holidays so he decided to visit Marseilles and popped in to say hi. Also I told him everything.”

“Kim, I swear to god, I am going to kill you–”

“Hi Alix!” came the sound of Jalil’s voice from the other end. “So you’re going to ask Adrien to marry you?”

“Well yeah, but it wasn’t my idea! Dad said he was going to cut off my inheritance and take back my pocket watch if I don’t marry someone within the next few months!”

“I think he made up the ‘if you’re not married by 26 then you have to give back the watch’ rule, you know. Just like he made up the ‘watch goes to the youngest child on their 15th birthday’ rule because he didn’t want to give it to me. He just wants to have at least _one_ kid who’ll settle down properly.”

“So like… he lied, just to trick me into trying to act like a normal person, so it looks good on him?” She had already guessed something like that, but hearing Jalil say it too just made it feel so much more real.

“Yeah, I think so. I know it’s unfair and you don’t have a choice. But according to Kim, you and Adrien have been getting along swimmingly.”

“It’s true, we have. He, um, kinda just confessed his undying love for me about 20 minutes ago actually.”

“That’s great! And how do you feel about him? I know you’re not into sappy lovey-dovey nonsense, but would you be okay with marrying him?”

“I would. I love hanging out with him. But… ugh, I just wish it was my choice!”

“Don’t worry, I completely understand. I think you and I both have annoying family problems, even if they’re not quite the same. Like dad being disappointed in me, which isn’t fun for me, but then that means all the pressure is put on you, which isn’t fun for you, so…”

“For what it’s worth, I’m not disappointed in you,” she said quickly. “So don’t stress out about dad’s approval. You’ve already got your super awesome little sister’s approval, and you’re doing a good job. Keep up the good work.”

“Thanks. I promise I’ll visit you soon. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Two years.”

“What, really?”

“Yep.” She wondered if she should admit that she still missed him sometimes, but would that sound childish? Never mind, it was just her brother, he wouldn’t judge. “I miss you trying and failing to be a good babysitter and role model, to be honest…”

“Me, a good role model? Didn’t I try to sacrifice your classmate in a creepy ritual to bring back the dead one time?”

“Well I killed Chat Noir, so I think we’re even!”

“You have a point! Anyway, good luck with all the Adrien stuff. I’m sure it’ll all turn out fine. And I guess I’d better end the call now before Kim gets back and starts yelling at you again.”

“Yes please, that would be ideal. Bye, Jalil.”

“Bye!”

 

Almost simultaneously, Adrien received a call from Chloé.

“Oh Adrikins, how are things going with Alix?” she asked immediately.

“Amazing,” he sighed. “She’s so wonderful!”

“And most importantly, have you proposed to her yet?”

“No, but I will soon.”

“Right, because I just proposed to Lila and she accepted.”

“Oh my goodness, congratulations!” he gasped. “That’s fantastic!”

“Thank you. I don’t know how my father will take the news when I tell him, though. He has no idea Lila and I are even a couple. But you know what? I don’t care. It’s my life, and I’m going to live it my way.”

“I wish I had the strength to do the same,” Adrien admitted. “But in this case things have luckily worked out, so I don’t need to estrange my father to be happy.”

“I’m glad for you. It seems like your life is sorted. At least, it will be once you’re actually married. How soon, do you think?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll ask her soon, though, since she only has a few months before her birthday and if she isn’t married by then, her father will take her watch back…”

“What is it with all of us rich people having issues with our fathers? Is it just a rich person thing?”

“Maybe…”

“And speaking of fathers, I’d better go and tell mine about Lila, it’s about time I did.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks Adrien. You too. See you soon.”

“See you too.”

He hung up, feeling rather content. Speaking to his old childhood friend was always nice, especially after Chloé had turned over a new leaf back in collège and actually started being a decent person. And now she was going to marry Lila Rossi, the girl of her dreams. He really, truly was happy for her.

 

Adrien’s birthday arrived not long after. Alix gave him the pair of Heelys that she had promised, and she spent the afternoon teaching him how to use them. It was so much fun, it made him feel so carefree and wild to just run along and start gliding along the ground like some kind of angelic being.

Afterwards she did indeed take him out for dinner, though he noticed she seemed rather distracted about something and refused to take off her cap for some reason. When he asked if she was alright she said that she was just tired, though he could tell that wasn’t it. He didn’t want to press her about it so he didn’t ask further, instead just reminding her that she could confide in him if she felt like it.

Once they had eaten dinner she accompanied him back to the courtyard of the Agreste mansion, where she stopped him before he went inside.

“Adrien, I really need to talk to you about something,” she said, sounding far more flustered than she ever did usually. “It’s important. Nothing bad, just… weird.”

“Of course! What is it?”

She lifted up her cap and took out a little box from underneath, opening it to reveal something glinting inside. The next thing he knew, she had got down on one knee and was holding it out at him.

“Okay listen, I know I hate the idea of marriage. I still haven’t changed my mind. But there’s not much time left, and I know you love me a lot, and… I would totally be okay with spending the rest of my life with you. Because y-you’re just the coolest person ever. And adorable. And it feels like you actually _get_ me, I can tell you stuff and you understand. It’s just… perfect… so um… Adrien Agreste, do you wanna marry me?”

He stared at her in utter shock, his hands over his mouth, too stunned to react at all.

“And I know I have some conditions,” she said quickly. “Like the whole procreation and everything that entails being off the table forever, and I know that’s the same with you, but… also I’m not changing my surname. And I have to be allowed my own bedroom if I’m moving into the mansion, I hate sharing a bed most days. And I have to be allowed on that rock climbing wall every single day. So if that’s all okay then–”

He couldn’t help it – he burst into tears.

“Y-yes, I accept! I do! _Yes!_ ”

Falling into her arms, he let the tears roll. Was he laughing now? Crying? He didn’t even know.

“Nice!” she laughed, taking the ring out of the box and putting it on his finger. “Was this a better birthday present than the Heelys?”

“The b-best birthday p-present ever,” he sobbed.

“Good. You’re the best so you deserve the best.”

He couldn’t even reply, he just hid his face in the fabric of her hoodie and laughed his heart out until he could hardly breathe.

 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was commissioned to design the wedding outfits. She had done that for plenty of her old classmates already, including herself, Alya, Rose, Mylène, Ivan, Kim and Max. Two more should be no problem.

“Are you sure I have to wear a dress?” Alix asked her, alone in the studio with her. “I _hate_ wearing dresses, I haven’t worn one since I was like 12. You know I’ll just end up ripping it or something anyway, no matter how good I look.”

“I’m sorry, it’s not up to me,” Marinette replied. “Personally I think you’d look very dashing in a nice suit. But it’ll have to be a dress. This wedding is for _publicity_ , after all.”

“Ugh, stupid publicity.”

“I know, right? But I promise you can customize the dress as much as you want, just tell me what sort of things. I can put pockets in it, for starters.”

“Yeah. Do that. I don’t really care what else, it’s not like I had a choice in anything else so there’s no point me having a choice in this either.”

Marinette looked up from her sketchpad. “What do you mean you didn’t have a choice? Don’t you want to marry Adrien?”

“Well _yes_ , but… it’s so hard to explain. If I wasn’t forced to marry someone, I probably just wouldn’t. And so many people have been talking to me all smug, saying that they always knew I’d ‘change my mind’ and settle down with someone or whatever, and just… no! I haven’t changed my mind on anything! Everyone has the wrong idea.”

“I know you and Adrien were under a lot of pressure to marry quickly… so you’re saying you wouldn’t have proposed to him if that pressure wasn’t there?”

“You bet. I mean, of course I like him, but I just… I don’t even care about romance or marriage. He knows it too. And my dad pressuring me into a marriage so soon, and Adrien’s dad telling him to marry someone rich… we got _lucky_ , that’s what.”

“Lucky?”

“Yeah. Lucky that we liked each other enough for this to even work out, lucky that we’re compatible in all the right ways. Because if that hadn’t happened, neither of us would have ended up happy. Our parents would have ruined our entire lives and happiness just for the sake of _status_.”

“I can see why you’re unhappy about that,” Marinette said, nodding sadly. “It does sound unfair.”

“Exactly. And so for people to say that I _chose_ this, as if I suddenly changed my mind about who I am as a person and just did this all freely, on my own accord… it’s just… I want revenge, Marinette.”

“Um… revenge?”

“ _Revenge_. I’ve had to make the most of the situation I was dumped into, and I’m not gonna be happy until I know they’ve paid for trying to control mine and Adrien’s lives.”

Marinette blinked a few times, surprised. “Well, what sort of revenge were you thinking?”

“They’re doing this all for publicity, right? Rich historian family member marries rich model and heir to a fashion company, that sort of nonsense. They want everything to be all perfect and respectable. Well, I am neither perfect nor respectable, and I don’t want people to see me as something I’m not. So I want to bring something of my own style to this stupid wedding, and it’s something that’ll make Adrien happy too.”

“I already told you, you’ll have to wear a dress, it’s not up to me.”

“But you can make the dress how you want, right? Could you make it long enough that no one can see my shoes?”

“Of course I can. Why, what shoes were you going to wear? Something weird? If no one will be able to see them then what’s the point?”

Alix grinned rather wickedly all of a sudden. “Trust me, there’s a point alright…”

 

Adrien could hardly stop crying on the day of the wedding. Every time he stopped, he would suddenly remember how happy he was, and the waterworks would start up again. Nino had been there with him the whole time, his suit shoulders getting stained from where Adrien had been crying over him.

By the time the ceremony was starting, Adrien had finally managed to hold back the tears long enough that most of the guests did not know he had been crying at all. He stood at the altar, barely even listening to what was being said. He just stared at the door and waited.

Eventually the door opened and out poured the bridesmaids and whoever else it was, he didn’t know or care, he just watched impatiently, waiting for when he would see…

_There_ she was.

Looking just stunning in the beautiful dress that Marinette had made for her. The golden light through the windows made her look almost like she was glowing, like some kind of precious little candle. The thought made Adrien’s eyes start watering again.

He watched as she began to move down the aisle…

But wait. That was impossible. She was gliding across the floor, so quick her father could hardly keep up, the train of the dress draping out behind her.

No mere human could walk like that. She couldn’t have been walking. She was floating – no, she was _flying_.

She couldn’t have been a human, could she? She was far too radiant for that, too beautiful, too unearthly… too _angelic_. That was it. She was an angel. She must have been. How else could she be flying like that? It was the most magical, breath-taking sight he had ever seen in his life. He could hardly believe it. He was going to marry an angel.

By the time she reached the altar, he was on the verge of tears again. In fact, he was sure he was about to start crying again at any moment, now that he knew his wife was going to be an angel, one who could beat someone up probably, one who would fight everyone to protect him, one who would never back down from a challenge, but an angel all the same…

Standing opposite him she gave him a smile, and he could feel himself just melting. He quickly whispered at her, ever so quietly, “Are you an angel? How were you flying?”

Even quieter, she whispered back one single word.

“ _Heelys_.”

It took a second to register. He glanced down at the dress – it was so long it covered her feet entirely.

So then… underneath it, she must have been wearing…

He burst into laughter suddenly, tears spilling out of his eyes. Everyone was staring at him, he knew it, so he tried his best to stop laughing. Unfortunately by this time Alix had started laughing too, and that just set him off again.

It was just so silly! She was wearing Heelys to her own wedding, and skating down the aisle. That wasn’t just the funniest thing ever. That was the most _Alix_ thing ever.

The ceremony started, and Adrien tried to keep his composure, but the two of them just kept bursting into giggles at the most serious moments. He simply couldn’t get his mind off those Heelys, no matter how hard he tried. His father was probably annoyed at him for laughing so much and ruining everything. Heck, most of the guests must have been so confused.

But it just didn’t matter to him. He wasn’t only going to marry an angel, he was marrying an angel on Heelys. It was the best thing that could ever have happened to him.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

He was snapped out of his daydreams when Alix suddenly picked him up, sweeping him right off his feet with more strength than he even knew she had, and gave him a kiss.

“D-don’t put me back down,” Adrien mumbled, starting to cry and laugh again at the same time, putting his arms around her and holding on tight.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna,” she replied, grinning. “What do you think of the Heelys idea?”

“I l-love it. So much. And I love you so much.”

“Me too. This is gonna be the most iconic wedding ever. So, ready for me to Heely off into the sunset with you in my arms?”

“That would be a… _Heely_ good idea!”

They both burst into laughter yet again. Ignoring the somewhat bemused guests, Alix skated right through them, taking her new husband with her.

“Told you we could get them together,” Chloé said, nudging Kim in the arm with her elbow.

“I almost thought they wouldn’t,” he said. “But you were right, they are a cute couple. And I told you she would wear Heelys to her wedding, you owe me a pair now.”

“Alright, fine, as long as you promise to attend mine and Lila’s wedding.”

“Of course I will!”

“And Kim... thank you for your help setting them up. I wanted Adrien to be happy, and…”

“Hey, it’s no problem. I wanted Alix to be happy too. I thought it would be impossible, but apparently we did it. _They_ did it.”

“I’m so happy for them.”

“I kinda wish I’d worn Heelys to my own wedding.”

“I suppose I could wear them to mine, but the effect would be somewhat lost now that Alix has gone and done it first…”

“You could always think up something unique.”

“You’re right,” Chloé muttered, thinking about skateboards. “You are absolutely right…”


End file.
